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About three-quarters of the way through Knights Contract, I noticed the architecture. For reasons too bizzare to bother spoiling, a long stretch of the game takes on an Inception-style anything-goes approach to the architecture of the player's surroundings, and it's lovely. It's all stone pillars and bridges reaching in all directions under a maize-colored sky, very much worth stopping for a second and looking around.

It's not really all that much better than anything in a hundred other games out there, but by that point, it was a surprise to see something in this game that isn't aggressively awful.

The reason I had noticed the architecture at all, honestly, is because I'd stopped moving. I was tired. Over the course of that chapter, the game's heroine -- a witch named Gretchen -- grows weary of her journey. She says things like "what a bother" and "let's get this over with," sentiments uncomfortably close to ones I wsa feeling at that very moment. For too much of its considerable play time, Knights Contract feels like a chore.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>game-republicGameRepublicGoetheknights-contractKnightsContractmicrosoftnamco-bandaiplaystationps3xboxTue, 01 Mar 2011 17:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2010/12/17/knights-contract-signed-sealed-delivered-on-feb-22-2011/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/12/17/knights-contract-signed-sealed-delivered-on-feb-22-2011/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/12/17/knights-contract-signed-sealed-delivered-on-feb-22-2011/#comments
The odd pairing of Heinrich, everlasting executioner, and resurrected witch Gretchen will arrive on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 next year, on February 22. Developed by Game Republic, Knights Contract is set in an upheaved fantasy realm in which witches (those witches) are hunted and executed. That's bad news for Heinrich, who must defend Gretchen and rely on her magic to overcome a world of opposition.

Knights Contract appears to have a heavier focus on action than Namco's other recent partnership game, Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom -- and this time, you play as the big guy. He should have little problem carrying around a duck-weight like Gretchen.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>game-republicknights-contractmicrosoftnamco-bandaiplaystationps3q1-2011release-datexboxFri, 17 Dec 2010 21:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2010/10/14/knights-contract-preview/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/10/14/knights-contract-preview/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/10/14/knights-contract-preview/#commentsMajin and the Forsaken Kingdom isn't the only "partnership" game in the works at Namco Bandai and Game Republic. Knights Contract shares a similar "buddy road trip" design as Majin, but seems to lack some of the personality and charm of Game Republic's other game. I couldn't help but think, "This reminds me of Quantum Theory," while watching a hands-off demo at a recent preview event. In case you didn't know, that's not really a good thing.

You assume control of Heinrich, an executioner, cursed by the witch Gretchen and rendered immortal. The only way to break the curse is to team up with Gretchen and battle Dr. Faust, who's cursing the land with plague and monsters. It's actually a rather original spin on classic German literature. Unfortunately, none of that creativity seems to carry through in the design.

Gameplay is similar to recent action games a la God of War -- but there's a "twist." The AI-controlled Gretchen follows you into combat, enabling you to access her various witch powers and finishing moves. While you may be immortal, Gretchen is not, so you must balance protecting her and using her as an asset in battle. From what I've observed, immortality doesn't really add to the game. Namco Bandai's own Splatterhouse, for example, takes better advantage of the immortality concept by giving you the ability to swing your limbs at enemies -- even when they're detached from your body!

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>game-republicknights-contractmicrosoftnamco-bandaiplaystationps3xboxThu, 14 Oct 2010 19:20:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/16/knights-contract-tgs-screens-give-us-a-heads-up/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/16/knights-contract-tgs-screens-give-us-a-heads-up/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/16/knights-contract-tgs-screens-give-us-a-heads-up/#comments
Behold: Pieces of media from Namco Bandai's upcoming over-the-top action game, Knight's Contract, which actually show what the game is going to look like while you're playing it. Check out some (awfully familiar-looking) gameplay screenshots included in the gallery posted below.

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We're all for super tough, magical knights with transforming sword/scythe weapons. Snarling 15-foot beasts, though? Not so much. The latest trailer for Knights Contract features both. This could pose a problem for us, juxtaposing two things that we, respectively, like and despise. When we saw the magical knights brutally murder a handful of the beasts ... we'll be honest: it made us feel a lot better. Hopefully you'll click past the break and it'll have the same effect on you.

Namco Bandai has announced that last week's unveiling of Knights Contract also pertains to us knaves here in North America, where the game will launch on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2011. It stars Heinrich, a medieval knight tasked with guarding the resurrected witch that he once killed and who now has him under her spelll. It sounds like a bum deal, to be honest.

The first trailer for the game portrayed Knights Contract as a Bayonetta-esque action-adventure game. Have a look at the screenshots in our gallery below, but know that they're quite gory -- not Killer Clowns from Outer Spacegory, but like Kill Billgory. You've been warned!

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>actionknights-contractMicrosoftnamcoNamco-BandaiXbox-360Tue, 25 May 2010 13:15:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2010/05/20/namco-bandai-announces-immortal-action-game-knights-contract/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/05/20/namco-bandai-announces-immortal-action-game-knights-contract/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/05/20/namco-bandai-announces-immortal-action-game-knights-contract/#commentsAccording to Siliconera, this week's edition of Famitsu outed Namco Bandai's current project: A frantic, Bayonetta-esque action game titled Knights Contract. You play as the titular, scythe wielding soldier named Heinrich, who must slay groups of gruesome enemies while protecting Gretchen, a witch who has cursed you with immortality. Why are you protecting the witch who put a curse on you? We have no idea. Probably because she's pretty, and you're a knight?

If that sounds like a winning combination, you can check out the debut trailer for the game just past the jump. Right now, it's only slated for a 2011 release on 360 and PS3 in Japan, but we think fighting monsters with agricultural hand tools is a concept the whole world will be able to get behind.